                                                           B"sd

                      A Voice from Hebron
                     by Gary M. Cooperberg
        Arafat has Given Netanyahu a New Year's Present
                       Will he Accept it?
                       September 25, 1998
                                
     In a democratic world it should not be surprising that the United Nations would vote to
establish a Palestinian State.  It also would not surprise me if they voted to simply change the
name of Israel to Palestine and hand the keys to Arafat.  What surprises, astonishes and angers me
is the fact that a brilliant man like Binyamin Netanyahu, rather than accepting his role as Prime
Minister of the Jewish State, is acting like a disinterested mediator.  

     A defacto PLO state was established by Rabin and Peres, and like it or not, endorsed by
Netanyahu.  Bickering over the details as to when, if and how it will be formally declared is
merely academic.  If we want to make a case before the world against the establishment of such a
state we haven't a chance to succeed.  Does this mean that the establishment of a PLO state is an
inevitable fact and cannot be prevented?  Of course not.  But every day that passes without
positive action on the part of the Jewish State to stop this horror makes the effort to prevent the
PLO from succeeding that much more difficult.

     Countless opportunities have already been passed up and I will not waste the time to
enumerate them here.  But we now have a new one. And this one can really be considered a New
Year's present from the PLO.  The PLO has clearly stated its intention to declare statehood in
May of next year.  Rather than issue warnings of what we will do in such an event, this
government has an obligation to act now in reaction to that statement.  Simply add this
declaration to the countless other violations of Oslo on the part of the PLO and declare the
agreement null and void.  Concurrently launch an all out and immediate attack against the PLO to
liberate all the Jewish lands given to them under false pretenses.  No more negotiations.  Just a
swift, brutal and complete re-taking of our country.

     Will this be easy or pleasant?  Absolutely not.  Will it unleash a war with the Arab nations?
It may.  And even if it does, at least we will have the element of surprise on our side and not the
other way around which is the only alternative.  As abhorrent as this tactic may sound to many,
the fact is that more lives, both Arab and Jewish, will be saved by such an act then by sitting on
our hands and waiting for our enemies to decide when and where to start the next war.

     Why do we refuse to recognize the fact that we are currently engaged in a limited war
with our Arab enemies.  Why does our army feel the need to put a closure on the "territories"
during our holidays?  Why must every citizen be terrified every time he sees an apparently
ownerless paper bag at a bus stop or supermarket?  Why do we see policemen and soldiers
patrolling our streets and shopping centers with dogs trained to smell explosives?  And why are
Jews not free to travel in all parts of our country, including Gaza, Hebron, Jericho, Bethlehem,
Shechem, and Ramallah?   Why was a Jewish car riddled with bullets yesterday merely because it
was driving on a main road in suburban Hebron which is still under Israeli control?  And why do
we hear gunfire every night throughout Judea and Samaria?  

     Am I angry that Arafat intends to declare a PLO state?  Of course not.  I would be amazed
if he didn't.  I am angry that no one in a position of leadership in this country is willing to accept
responsibility to as much as suggest that we take our homeland back from our enemies!   Yitzchak
Mordechai, our current Minister of Defense, said, only a few months ago, that the IDF is capable
of doing this.  He quickly added that we don't want to.  And that, in a nutshell, is the problem.  It
is not that we have no choices, rather that we consistently make the wrong ones.

     Mr. Netanyahu, I have never agreed with the manner in which you have conducted your
administration in reaction to the treasonous act in Oslo.  You have been given many opportunities
to undo your mistakes and have refused to take any of them.  Arafat, in deference to Rosh
Hashannah, has just given you a real present. You now have another golden opportunity to, on
your own terms, explain how hard you tried to make peace; were willing to and did, indeed, back
down on basic national principles for this effort; and now have reached the red line where it
should be clear to all that Oslo has failed. 

     Now is the time to act. There is no point in waiting to react to a formal declaration of
statehood by the PLO.  The fact that they formally declared their intention to do so is enough. In
view of the fact that the PLO has abrogated both the letter and the spirit of the agreement, you
have no choice but to take back all that was given in good faith.  There was no reciprocity and
thus the PLO has forfeited any rights to as much as one grain of sand on the Gaza beach.  

     A carefully planned evacuation of formerly PLO controlled areas should be immediately
implemented.  Not only will we take back our country, we will remove our enemies from it. 
Those who cooperate will be bused to temporary detention centers until alternative arrangements
can be found for them.  They will be provided with food and shelter until those arrangements are
made.  Armed resistence will be swiftly and brutally put down. . . with real bullets.  We do not
want a war.  But we will not surrender to our enemies.  This is our homeland.  We were prepared
to make adjustments for peace, but those efforts have failed.  We now have no choice but to take
back our homeland or lose it.  We are not about to lose it.